In the skewed world that we live in, it is considered fashionable, especially for celebrities, to arrive late. But Alankrita Shrivastava, director of lipstick Under My Burkha defies the rule. A delayed flight means that she arrives much after the appointed hour and apologises profusely throughout the meeting.
But then, that is not the only thing which is different about this Delhi girl who has been in the news because of her run-in with the Central Board of Film Certification. The board had objections as it found the movie “lady oriented fantasy” with “contagious sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography.” But Shrivastava is happy that the certification issue brought to the fore many things. “A new dialogue and a new conversation — on female sexuality, about the male and female gaze, alternative points of views, women’s right to tell their stories and express their points of view and the status of artist in a democracy — have started,” says Shrivastava. The best thing was the realisation that perhaps Indian popular culture was not giving as much space to women as it should. “It served a purpose even without the film having been released,” she adds. Shrivastava is busy promoting her film which releases on July 21st.
She emphatically believes that the purpose of art is not just to entertain. “It should at least question the society or hold a mirror to it. the issue made people think more deeply in terms of women’s stories which are told from their point of view. I feel that was a real take away for me,” she says.
Shrivastava is categorical that while there should be a rating system, but censorship is an absolute no-no. “At one level you have Munni Badnaam, Sheela ki Jawaani or a Chikni Chameli where the camera is going up and down a woman’s body and objectifies it. Since this is done through a male gaze, it makes the cut. But it is not ok if a woman talks about her sexuality in a normal way,” she says. The way out, she believes, is to have a level playing field where one should be allowed to make what one wants and the adult citizen of India can watch what they want to — whether it is innuendo or whether it is something closer to life, with appropriate ratings, of course.
Dressed casually in a checkered skirt, black top, ankle-length boots, Shrivastava could be any woman next door. A copper knotted chain necklace, sleek black-framed spectacles and a gold bracelet are her only accessories. Talking more about the film she says, “The film addresses the issue of women having agency over their lives, dreams, their wants. These look small, but in a larger context, in the strongly entrenched patriarchal set up, these are in itself a threat.” The film looks at the lives of very ordinary women who through their small, little, secret acts of rebellion are trying to subvert patriarchy.
Shrivastava, hails from a bureaucratic family and her present world-view started forming early in life. She attended Welham Girls’ School in Dehradun where among other things she attended legal education workshops where the students were taught about the rights of women. “We were sensitised at an early age that women are not responsible for crimes that happen to them and that we should not fall into the trap. We were so young and it was fantastic. It made me look at life from that prism,” she says.
While doing her graduation in Journalism from lady Sri Ram College, she recalls, that she did a lot of things outside the class including attending conferences on women’s rights. The fact that she read a lot and had strong female role models in the family meant that she was unlikely to grow up to be a pushover.
Welham , was also instrumental in determining her career choices. “In junior school, I saw an audio-visual presentation, made by students and aired during founder’s day. I found it to be an amazing way of telling stories and I did it too later.” This was the beginning of her move towards films. By the time she did her Post graduation from AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia she was very clear that it was Mumbai that she was headed to.
It was during her last semester at Jamia that she met Prakash Jha, the Indian film producer, director and screenwriter, known for his gritty movies on the socio- political set up. “My mother was with the United Nations and she had worked with him in Bihar. She was meeting him for lunch and told me to come over,” she remembers. Though she had met him earlier as a child, it was at the meeting that Jha asked her future plans and on hearing her intention to move to Mumbai, asked her to assist him on Gangaajal (2003). And she did. She went on to assist him during a docu -drama on Jai Prakash Narain’s life, was the chief assistant on the set of Apaharan (2005) and then the associate director for Rajneeti. He also produced her first film, Turning 30 (2011) and also the current one.
“I am a graduate of the Prakash Jha school of film-making,” she says with a laugh. While she did learn a lot of technical things from him, it is another part that she appreciates so much more. “He inculcated in me the desire to have my own voice as a storyteller. Rather than trying to ape anyone. He does not sit in judgement on what you say. He has never cast aspersions on the kind of film that I am making or tried to force me to make a mainstream film. He is a teacher, who has imparted life lessons to me,” she says.
For a long time, Shrivastava was preoccupied with the idea of making a movie where women finding themselves. “I had this yearning for freedom, even though I had faced no restrictions. I wanted to explore the feeling of inner confinement and do it in a milieu where women really have restrictions,” she recalls. She thought of the four characters and the name of the film at the same time. That was the germination of lipstick Under My Burkha.
She wrote the first draft in 2012 and took it to the NFDC Screenwriters’ lab, an annual programme that offers screenwriters the opportunity to experiment with and explore their screenplays under the mentorship of acclaimed international script and industry experts. But then, it went into cold storage as Shrivastava attempted to make another movie — which did not progress. It was towards the end of 2013, that she embarked on another draft, got scriptwriters Gazal Dhaliwal to do the dialogues and Suhani Kanwar for additional screenplay. “It was a slow process. The idea was compelling, so I wrote it, but I never thought I would make a movie. Every film has its own destiny. So this one was meant to be made,” she says.
Shrivastava managed to get a diverse cast on board including veteran actor Ratna Pathak Shah, critically acclaimed Konkona Sen Sharma as well as Aahana Kumra, Plabita Borthakur and a motley of male artists like Sushant Singh and Vikrant Massey.
For Shrivastava, the actors are very important, for they bring everything to the table. “Without good actors you can’t make a film as they are the ones telling the story. They really have to own it and give me everything. I am very demanding as a director. All of them are fantastic and did their best. For me that is very important.”
Shrivastava and the rest of the cast did a lot of preparatory workshops, readings and rehearsals with a film maker, Atul Mongia, for six weeks. “This helps to map out the performances and decide where you want them to go and where you can take it. And then I feel you can mould the performance and you can take it one step forward,” she says.
While her film, which is set in Bhopal, will make it to the theatres, she feels, that the system is skewed against the smaller budget movies where a Masaan has to compete with a Bajrangi Bhaijaan. She would prefer a more level playing field where the tickets of smaller movies are priced cheaper.
As for her future plans, she has a legal drama and an adaptation of a book on the cards, after this movie.
Despite more women-centric movies making it to the screens, Shrivastava says these films feature only big star in a heroic role. “A woman protagonist does not necessarily mean that the movie is made from female gaze. For me it is not enough. A female centric film is a step forward but we need to be sensitive to women. It is not everyone’s cross to bear bear but I am interested in bringing that understanding,” she says.
More power to the lady, as she aims to do just that next week.
Photo: MD Meharban
The faces behind the burkhas
Prakash Jha
Talking about why Jha got involved with the film he shares, “Sadly, in our society, girls need to think twice before taking a any step. We have nurtured this mentality of training our women like pets. For us burkha is a symbol of restrictions while lipstick represents freedom. Its unfair that women still need to fight for their rights. However, there is no guarantee that things will change after such movies but it is essential that we talk, share and take such steps regularly.
Talking about why the movie took so long to be released, Jha said, “The movie was not stuck for months, it was in process. It is us who have given the power to censor board to get scenes from our films either cut or deleted. The problem withus was that they refused to give us the certificate to entertain the audience.”
Konkana Sen Sharma
Sadly, it is true that there are far more male film makers than women. There are several women who have accepted this patriarchy and an oppressive place in the society while there are some men who surprise you with their sensitivity. We are hoping to move towards a more equal society where we are interested in each other’s story. Our movie is just a step to inspire others to bring more such stories. Also, whenever we see sex scenes in a mainstream film it is for titilation or gratification but here we are seeing it to reveal something about these women.
Ekta Kapoor
I’m not a flag-bearer of art films as sometimes they lack entertainment and are pretentious. After lSD (love, Sex or Dhoka), I found lipstick Under My Burkha a very bold and strangely a questioning film. And everyone can easily relate to the story. The conversations in the film are real as well as entertaining. I empathise with the women of our country on whose life this film is based on, yet they don’t get a chance to watch it. Also, both nudity and modesty empowers people and its none of our business to decide what one stands for what. Why do the liberals have a problem with women wearing sareesIJ We should stop generalising people. If I support my TV character ‘Tulsi’ for being a saree clad character, that doesn’t mean I will not supporting the ones who don’t. Respect and acceptance is the key to a wholesome society.
Ratna Pathak Shah
I should be an idiot if I had not been a part of this film. The script was extremely well written and I don’t think a part like this has ever been written for an actress of my age. I feel lucky to be in it.
Also, the society is never ready to hear any opposing voices. Its a pity that we have been casted in this opposing point of view. Men and women, both run this world. If more stories like this are made, then it won’t strike to anyone as unusual. This movie can’t be made 10 years ago but now we are ready to accept the reality. Whosoever will watch the film, will come out questioning themselves and the society. I think this movie will also provide human service by providing sex education to the viewers. We don’t know how we became 1.5 billion, we are in desperate need for sex education.